Temple Warning Sign: Trespassing Equals Death Penalty

NO FOREIGNER
IS TO GO BEYOND THE BALUSTRADE
AND THE PLAZA OF THE TEMPLE ZONE
WHOEVER IS CAUGHT DOING SO
WILL HAVE HIMSELF TO BLAME
FOR HIS DEATH
WHICH WILL FOLLOW

This is a picture of a temple warning sign that Josephus spoke about.  (See prior blog post that discusses this here )  Archeologists discovered this one, written in Greek, in 1871.  The words above is the actual inscription.  This offense is what led to Saint Paul's ultimate death.

King Herod allowed the 'gentiles' (any non-Jew) in the outer courts, referred to as the Court of the Gentiles, but the inner courts were reserved strictly for practicing Jews.  In Paul's defense, he tells his captors that he has violated no religious law, that though he believed in Christ and the Resurrection, he still practiced the Jewish traditions.  This got him off the hook for awhile, but ultimately he did pay the penalty of death.

The block of limestone uncovered in 1871 was 22-inches high and 33-inches long.  Each letter was 1.5 inches high and painted with red ink against the white limestone.  This discovery confirms the accounts of  Flavius Josephus and confirms events outlined in Scripture, such as:

Ephesians 2:13-14
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our ^apeace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle ^bwall of partition between us;

Matthew 23:13
13 ¶ But woe unto you, ^ascribes and ^bPharisees, ^chypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

Isaiah 56:7
7 Even them will I bring to my holy ^amountain, and make them joyful in my ^bhouse of ^cprayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be ^daccepted upon mine altar; for mine ^ehouse shall be called an house of prayer for ^fall ^gpeople.

Mark 11:17-18
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might ^adestroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.

Unlike Paul who thought he may get away with a light punishment, Jesus Christ very well knew that this inscription would cost him his own life in his pursuit for the Gentiles to cross this barrier.

*picture used by permission from http://www.bible-history.com